Rivals and Friends
by RyukoVulpix
Summary: On a lonesome night, Shigeru reflects on his and Satoshi's past, the present, their rivalry... and what the future might hold for both of them.


**Rivals and Friends**

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_... a Pokémon battle..._

_... but not just any Pokémon battle..._

_... this one..._

_... might determine which one of us achieves greatness at this tournament..._

_... and who fails..._

_... the Silver Conference._

_... two days from now..._

_... maybe..._

_... our fates might be decided..._

_... but..._

_As the day draws closer, I wonder..._

_... why do we act this way...?_

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We used to be friends...

... what happened to those days?

Long ago... it seems to have been such a long time ago...

How old were we? When we became friends?

So long ago... does anybody remember it today?

Does anybody remember when we were unseparable?

Does anybody remember when the two of us shared our dreams...

... together...?

Does anybody remember...

... and I wonder, on this night...

... do you remember?

Do you remember how we used to play together as young children?

How old were we? Two years old? Three? Even I don't remember...

It seemed like a friendship like ours would last forever...

... forever...

But forever is a long time...

... things happen...

What happened to the dreams we would whisper to each other under the shade of the trees near Grandpa's laboratory?

Why do these dreams now seem to be almost true, close to reality...

... yet so empty now?

Why did we stop confiding in each other our hopes and wishes?

Why did we stop... being...

...

... was it because of me...?

... was I too... competitive...?

... did we disagree one too many times...?

Why does it seem that, long ago, we aspired to be the greatest Pokémon Masters ever... together?

Why is it so different now?

Why did it change?

What made us...

... me...

... maybe even you...?

... why are we so different from each other now?

In my eyes... you seem... the same...

... the same... but different...

... is it that look in your eyes when you see me?

What are you thinking?

Are you... sad...?

... angry...?

... when you see me... you don't seem to be...

... happy...

... anymore...

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_I remember..._

_... when we'd spot each other at the playgrounds... or at the grocery stores, shopping with our families... you, with your mother, me, usually with my older sister..._

_... your face would light up as you called out my name..._

"Shigeru!"

_... and I'd call back..._

"Satoshi!"

_We'd ask my sister and your mother for a few coins, then go out front and play on the mechanized Ponyta in front of the store, or we'd go laugh and play on every piece of equipment in the park..._

_When your mother and my sister came to get us, we'd beg them to let us go to each other's houses..._

_If they said yes, we were overjoyed... and those days were always good ones..._

_If they said no, we'd always sigh, look at each other, then hope for next time..._

_Going to your house was the most fun thing I did as a young child..._

_Your father was off training most of the time in the summer, and your mother would always have some sort of snack waiting for us..._

_When you came to Grandpa's lab, you would stare, your eyes shining, at the fields and fields full of Pokémon, all belonging to some trainer, years older than us..._

_... we'd run out among the Pokémon, find a shady tree, and lie down in its cool embrace..._

_... and dream of the day when we could leave Masara Town and begin an adventure..._

_... together..._

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Why?

I can only wonder... as to why we didn't do that...

A child's dreams can wander far from reality...

Did we seem to think, without saying it, that the greatest Pokémon Master could be two people?

Or... were we really only one person back then?

How close were we...?

I seem to remember everything at first glance...

... but, when I try to remember...

_... our smiling faces... our proud families... our friendship..._

_... I can't remember..._

What's wrong with me, Satoshi? What?

Can you remember? What did we do...?

... I feel so alone now.

What's wrong? What happened to when we could tell what the other was thinking by looking at each others' eyes?

Or... even when we were apart?

Did we have a fight? Or did we just... drift away from each other...

I've tried for so long to forget you, to try and accomplish my own goal...

... alone...

... memories fade... and you're not here so that we can create more...

Where are you?

I know where you are... you're staying somewhere in this lodge for the trainers competing in the Silver Conference.

It seems strange to say it, but... I can feel your presence when you're around me...

... it must be something that's left from our childhood...

I know where you are.

But... at the same time... I don't...

Where are your thoughts? What are your dreams? Have they changed at all?

Where is your mind?

What happened to when our minds were like one, one that traveled everywhere? They weren't two separate identities...

We weren't "Satoshi by himself." We weren't "Shigeru by himself."

We were always "Satoshi and Shigeru." "Shigeru and Satoshi."

... where's the Satoshi that I used to know?

Why can't I say that to your face?

Am I afraid that you'll think I'm still... young...?

Why do I even think those words?

You're the same... right...?

Is it just me who's changed?

Have you changed too?

... no... you can't have.

When I look at you and your Pokémon, I see something that's so different from me and mine...

You... you have a real bond between you and your Pokémon...

_... kind of like... how you did with me..._

I... I don't think I spend enough time with my Pokémon...

I was always taught that you should rotate your Pokémon and train them evenly...

But I was also taught that the more Pokémon you have, the better...

... I don't think I get to spend enough time with any of them...

You, on the other hand...

You have so few Pokémon... and the few that you do leave with my grandfather I don't think you often take with you...

... yet, even from a distance, they still grow attached to you.

You've never left your Pikachu with anybody else... never...

That same Pikachu... the young Pokémon who would never take orders from anyone... the one that would never enter a Poké Ball...

... and it was the only one left for you, that first day of your journey...

... yet, you were so...

... I guess...

... desperate...

... that you took it with you...

... and, somehow, you transformed that Pokémon trainer's nightmare into a friendly, beautiful creature...

... I don't know. You've always had that kind of touch.

... something that I... I...

...

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_When I think back..._

_... to that one day..._

_... I think it was the only day I ever felt..._

_... well... differently about you..._

_... we were walking around in Grandpa's fields behind the laboratory..._

_... when... all of a sudden..._

_... the ground shook..._

_... a Tauros... a huge Tauros, in its prime fighting age..._

_... came charging toward us..._

_I was terrified out of my wits..._

_... and I was scared for you, too..._

_I grabbed your wrist and dragged you, the two of us running as fast as we could..._

_But you looked back..._

_... and you said to me..._

"Shigeru...? I think there's something wrong with your Grandpa's Pokémon..."

"No! That's a Tauros! They're mean!" _I pulled you faster._

"Wait, stop, maybe we can help it!"

_I looked at you... you had a thoughtful, yet somehow reckless look on your face..._

_Yes... that was you... always the reckless one..._

_But, reckless or not... you convinced me..._

_As we took a closer look, we saw that the Tauros wasn't trying to run us down..._

_It was running around in random directions, tossing its head and bellowing angrily._

_I think we both saw what was wrong at the same time, but you were the one who said it first..._

_... oh, yeah... how could I forget... you always spoke whatever was on your mind as soon as it entered your brain..._

"Shigeru! There's something on its head!"

_And there was. It was a red piece of cloth, stuck to the Tauros's head over its left horn, and flapping wildly in its face._

_Before I could do anything about it, you had let go of my hand and started running for the Tauros._

"Satoshi, wait, come back!!"

_I started after you, terrified at what might happen..._

_You reached the creature, which was now standing in one spot, shaking its head violently to try and rid itself of the irritation, rearing high into the air, its huge frame seemingly higher than a mountain to such small children as us._

"Hi there, my name's Satoshi! Let me help!" _you chirped to the furious animal._

_The Tauros suddenly stopped, trying to find the source of your voice. It suddenly started to lower its front feet to the ground._

_For the first time, I think I saw actual fear in your eyes..._

_... it was too much for me..._

_I ran towards you, as fast as I could go, my legs powered by my panic..._

_I got to you, pushed you forward, and we tumbled, head over heels, right underneath the giant._

_As soon as the Tauros's feet lay on the ground, right where you'd been standing, you started to get up and walk around to its front again. I jumped up, wanting to pin you down so you wouldn't get hurt..._

"Hey! Shigeru, lemme go!" _you shouted angrily. _"I wanna help it!"

"It's too big! Let's go back to my grandpa," _I said._

_But it wasn't like you would listen anyway. You pushed me to the ground, then ran around to the Tauros's head._

_It stood about a mile higher than you. You craned your neck upwards, like you were looking at the sky, and said politely, _"'Scuse me? Could you please bring your head down here so I can take that thing off your eyes?"

_To this day, I don't know if it was your tone of voice or if it really understood you... but it listened to you. It lowered its nose down and inhaled your scent. Then it licked you, right across the face._

_You looked startled for a moment, then you started laughing. The suddenness made the Tauros pull back momentarily, then it calmly let you touch its face again._

_Not wasting any time, you cleanly slipped the red piece of cloth off of the Tauros's horn, crumpled it up, and stuck it in your pocket where the Pokémon could no longer see it._

_The Tauros looked at you, its sight no longer impaired, then bellowed happily while you hugged its enormous face with your tiny hands._

_Meanwhile, I had stood a few feet away, dumbfounded._

_With only your voice, you had managed to tame a rampaging Pokémon..._

_... for a moment... I was..._

_... almost..._

_... jealous..._

_I wondered why I hadn't done anything to help you..._

Many times, I would think back to that moment, and wished that I could have changed what I did...

_But, my train of thought was interrupted when a young trainer and Grandpa came running towards us._

"Shigeru! Satoshi! Are you all right?!"_ Grandpa asked, alarmed, seeing us so close to the Tauros._

"I'm fine, Grandpa."

"We're okay, Shigeru's grampa."

_The trainer walked to the Tauros that you were playing with. _"It looks all right now..."_ he sighed, thankfully._

_Grandpa looked at the two of us carefully, wiping your face clean on his lab coat. _"Did it hurt you?"

"Nope,"_ I said proudly. _"Satoshi took that thing off its head."

_You stood up as straight and tall as you could, grinning so widely I thought it would take up your whole head. Grandpa laughed._

"Well, as long as you two are okay..."_ he chuckled._

_Then he turned to the trainer, standing by his Tauros. _"That was an irresponsible thing to do!"_ he said, reprimanding the trainer. _"That was dangerous... you're not a professional bullfighter, nor should you pretend to be!"

"Yes, Professor..."_ he said, looking dejected._

_So that's what had happened. That trainer had used a piece of red cloth to pretend he was a bullfighter with his Tauros. But it had run at him, spiked the cloth on its left horn, and gone wild with the object flapping in its eyes and ears, hindering its vision._

_The story had been in an article the next day. The two of us were interviewed and everything..._

_I knew that your mother kept a copy of the article, as did my family._

_But I felt a little left out, because the article was mostly about you..._

_But when I said this to you, while we were lying in the shade of a tree in the field..._

_... you just laughed._

_You told me,_

"If it hadn't been for you, I'd have been a pancake in the first place."

_I stared at you for a minute, then burst out laughing._

_So, even things like fame never got in the way of our friendship..._

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When I think back to that day, and the events after it...

I remember the good times.

I remember the times that we shared, no matter who would be in the spotlight...

... although, most of the time, it was...

... me...

... people would constantly want to see me, because...

... I was the grandson of Professor Ookido...

... supposedly a young Pokémon prodigy, like my grandfather.

I don't know if I really was.

It was just the way I was raised.

But...

... I wonder...

... why would I have been the only one to be a young Pokémon Master in the works?

Why not you?

... yeah... sure... it was in my genes...

... right.

But you had something different.

Something... something that set you apart from all the other children, even me...

... you had a real love for Pokémon.

Not like anyone else...

... of course, it's any child's dream and wish to be a Pokémon Master someday.

But you were... so different...

... so different...

... from me...

... maybe that's where things started to go wrong.

Maybe that's when we discovered...

... that the greatest Pokémon Master...

... can only be one person.

You and I, as close as we were, we were still extremely different...

... I always thought things out carefully and planned my ideas.

You were always so reckless, so daring and courageous that you really didn't need any planning... your blind optimism always kept you going...

... so...

... I guess you really haven't changed much.

After these years of being separated from each other, I still see the same kinds of qualities in you that I saw before...

... only, now, you have an entire team of Pokémon...

... Pokémon that aren't just your traveling companions and battlers.

... no.

They're... they're your friends.

And I can see the same kind of bond between you and them that...

... that...

... we... used... to...

...

I know you and your personality.

You can't stand being alone.

In that way... you're still like a little child.

But, me...

... all these years of training haven't just hardened my Pokémon, I think...

... has my heart become hardened as well...?

... if it's true...

... do I still deserve to be your friend...?

... do I even deserve to be your rival...?

You...

...

... Satoshi...

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_I think..._

_... it happened over the course of several years._

_We just got too... too competitive._

_All friends get into fights sometimes..._

_... we should have just made up, all those times..._

_... but no._

_We were just too stubborn..._

_... to admit we were wrong._

_When did we stop dreaming together?_

_I don't want to think about it..._

_I don't want to remember any of the hurt that I must have felt..._

_... I don't want to know if you felt hurt, too..._

_... because..._

_... it would hurt me too much._

_You see..._

_... Satoshi..._

Somewhere...

... deep down...

... beyond the arguing, the bragging, the anger...

... there's still something left...

... I hope...

Please...

... if I can ever come up with the strength to...

... to apologize, for all those times that I've made fun of you, or embarassed you, or made you angry...

... please say that you care.

I know that there's something beyond our rivalry.

Because, if there wasn't...

_... then, yesterday night..._

_... why would you have sat outside with me, watching the full moon...?_

_... we got into a conversation..._

_... it was almost like before..._

Why can't every day be like that?

Why can't we drop this facade and go back to the way things were before?

You haven't changed... you haven't changed...

... then...

... Satoshi, if you're still my friend, somewhere, deep down...

... can you tell me what I'm doing wrong?

When I walk to the window and look at my own reflection, with the night sky in the background...

... what am I supposed to see?

How do you remember me?

Do I seem cold and heartless to you now?

Because... I don't want to be.

When I tease you in public, when you get angry at me...

... I'll stay somewhere that night, unable to sleep, wondering why I did or said that...

... what do you do on those nights?

Are you awake, too, wondering what happened to those days, long ago?

Or... are you still so naïve that... you're believing what I say?

... don't, Satoshi, don't...

... you're not a loser. No matter what I say.

You're too caring and loyal to your friends to be a loser.

If I ever find the courage to say it...

... I'm sorry.

I'm sorry for everything that I've ever done to you.

I'm sorry for not being around you anymore.

I'm sorry...

As I sit here, thinking about it...

... it reminds me of the verses of an old song that we used to know...

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_Wow - Growin' up growin' up  
Someday, we'll meet again  
Wow - Growin' up growin' up  
Someday, let's meet again_

_Beyond the blue sky and extending over  
Your future is my future  
In that time when you fought with exceptional power  
Your wish is my hope  
"__Fear nothing  
Change it into strength"  
You always taught me such things_

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_._

... hmm.

... yeah... we'll meet again...

At the Silver Conference battle.

Listen...

... I guess it doesn't matter, really...

... who wins or loses...

... if I won, you'd be down for a while...

... but, then, you'd come after me, wanting a rematch...

_... blind optimism..._

... I'll accept...

... you're so naïve, but...

... I can't help but admire that.

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_Wow - Growin' up growin' up  
Someday, we'll meet again  
Wow - Growin' up growin' up  
Someday, let's meet again_

_I always see you smiling, Ultra Z  
Your vigor is my power  
"__Answer your dream  
It'll change the world"  
Such things you taught me, my friend_

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If you won...

... I don't know.

I can think back, to that day...

... the day you refer to as

"_The day we tied"..._

... I told you that tying with you was as bad as losing...

... how could I say such a thing...?!

... when we were kids, we were always even...

... we never told anybody about what happened with the Tauros...

... actually, we never told anybody anything about what we did.

You had me convinced that we were equals in every way.

Forever.

But...

... that feeling didn't last forever...

Now, we're both striving to be better than the other...

... but if what we believed was true...

... then neither one of us will ever succeed...

If that's so...

... then why are we wasting our time like this?

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_Wow - Growin' up growin' up  
Someday, we'll meet again  
Wow - Growin' up growin' up  
Someday, let's meet again_

_Wow - Growin' up growin' up  
Someday, we'll meet again  
Wow - Growin' up growin' up  
Someday, let's meet again_

_._

_._

_._

If I lost...

... what would I do?

I lost once, at the Indigo Plateau...

... before you did...

I guess, that time...

... it was almost what I deserved.

Bragging too much before testing my limits.

There are so many different places on this planet.

There are so many more things in this world that I want to experience.

I'd...

... I'd just keep going.

Maybe I'm not as reckless as you are...

... but I'm just as stubborn.

...

... hmm.

...

I don't think you can hear me anymore...

... I mean, I don't think you can hear my thoughts anymore, not like when we were little...

... but, if you can, I just want you to know...

... that we're still friends.

We're always going to be friends, no matter how it appears on the outside.

Yeah... we're rivals.

But there's something more to it.

I don't know if you know, but...

... listen...

... I care.

I care what happens to you. I don't want anything bad to befall you.

You have great friends, human and Pokémon alike.

Of course.

That's just who you are.

And, about that word...

... "forever"...

...

... you were right.

We were friends then.

And, as different as we might be now...

... we still are.

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_Wow - Growin' up growin' up  
Someday, we'll meet again  
Wow - Growin' up growin' up  
Someday, let's meet again_

_._

_._

_._

Hey, listen...

... I'm only going to say this once more.

Then, maybe never again...

... but who knows...

Who knows what the future might hold for us.

But, to tide us over until then...

We are rivals...

... and friends...

... forever.

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_Fin_

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_Author's Notes: If you enjoyed this story, please also read "Golden Rivals, Silver Friends," which can be found on my profile page._

_Thank you for reading!_


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